On Wednesday, March 15th, Jonathan Bloxham makes his come-back as conductor of the Radio Chamber Orchestra, following his success at the concert which ended the 2021-2022 season. Due to this reason, the British conductor participated in an interview, held by Ioana Țintea.

Jonathan Bloxham, you're returning on the Radio Hall stage. What are your thoughts upon returning as conductor of the Radio Chamber Orchestra and how do you see the encounter with the musicians?

It is always wonderful to return and conduct an orchestra you've worked with before. It's like meeting someone for the first time and having the opportunity for a second meeting with them. The conversation flows more easily, the narrative is more fluent. The rehearsals with the orchestra have gone well since the first one. I'm very happy I returned.

How did you put together the program and which were the criteria you employed when choosing the works?

Some programs center around certain themes, but sometimes it is wonderful to simply choose great works. This is what I did for this concert. The second part presents Beethoven's First Symphony, which is a transition between the classical and the romantic repertoires. It starts with this incredible seventh chord in C major, a bold choice at that time as few composers dared to use it as the starting point of their work. During the first part of the concert, we will show two works for bowstring orchestra. Edvard Grieg's Holberg Suite is a wonderful piece, which I've been familiar with since I was a child and which I played when I was a cello player. Then together with baritone Jonathan McGovern, a very dear and amazing friend of mine, we will play the Let us Garlands Bring Suite by Gerald Finzi, which was inspired by Shakespeare's texts. I'm absolutely convinced that it will be a wonderful experience for everybody.